


Between Captains, Of Captains

by noctiscorvus



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-17
Updated: 2013-07-17
Packaged: 2017-12-20 12:27:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/887278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noctiscorvus/pseuds/noctiscorvus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vulcans will never understand humans completely and, quite frankly, Humanity is quite okay with that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between Captains, Of Captains

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MeredithBrody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeredithBrody/gifts), [for dragging me back into Jorika and onto my favourite starship.](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=for+dragging+me+back+into+Jorika+and+onto+my+favourite+starship.).



> This is some time in the future, Trip is alive because I will ever deny that happened. Jonathan Archer and Erika Hernandez are well and happily married, still flying and still exploring the unknown.

Enterprise had been running scans on a stellar nursery, just a few lightyears off their course, when a Vulcan ship had come into sensor range.  
Jon was in Engineering, tossing ideas back and forth about engine upgrades with Trip, when T'Pol informed him of the other ship's approach.  
Always optimistic when encountering fellow explorers, not that Vulcans considered themselves that, Jonathan had his science officer hail them.  
"I'll be up in a minute. Make some chit-chat, T'Pol." He grinned at Trip, who returned in kind, before making his way up to the bridge.

The silence that met him as the turbolift doors opened was expected and he bit back a smile, giving T'Pol a nod as he walked towards his chair.  
Jon didn't sit though, put a hand on the armrest and focused his attention on the display screen.  
"I'm Captain Jonathan Archer of the Enterprise," He gave the unimpressed-looking Vulcan his most winning smile, "It's always nice to see a friendly face out here."  
The silence on the other end continued and Jon wondered if he'd done something wrong to, once again, upset a Vulcan's delicate sensibilities. He was about to look to T'Pol for help when the other Captain finally spoke.  
"I am Captain Sirik of the D'Kyr." There was a pause in which Sirik raised an eyebrow before gesturing to Jon, "You are not the first Archer I have come across."

Jon immediately perked up at that, the corner of his mouth tilting up a little as he looked away from the screen a moment, “Ah, you’ve met Captain Archer of the Columbia, I take it?”   
It was a silly question, there were only two Archers of Captain ranking currently active, but Jon was curious as to where this was going, curious why the Vulcan felt it necessary to mention it.  
Sirik barely moved as he spoke, eyes never leaving Jon’s for a second, “Yes. We assisted the Columbia with a mission not too long ago.”   
That had Jon racking his memory, going through all the conversations he’d had with Erika recently, somewhat recalling a rant about Vulcans sticking their fingers into other people’s pie. He’d laughed when she was finished, glad that he wasn’t the only one suddenly getting a pointy-eared chaperone who seemed to think they were incapable of handling themselves.

“I find it odd,” Sirik continued, drawing back Jon’s attention, “that there are two Captain Archers, both flying an NX class vessel.”  
Ah, so that was it.  
Jon figured that this was about as close as a Vulcan was going to get to admitting confusion and decided that it was his duty as a Human to not make this any easier for the other.  
“I don’t see the problem.” Brow furrowed, he stepped closer to the screen, obviously expecting an explanation.  
Like most Vulcans who hadn’t spent much quality time with Humans, Sirik gave him the look that said ‘Of course the human doesn’t understand the simplest of things’ before following up with one of Jon’s favourite Vulcan excus-Ah, expressions.  
“It is illogical.”  
Jon looked to Malcolm, who’d snorted softly to show just how much he too liked that particular idiom, before returning his gaze back to Sirik, “Illogical.”  
“Yes. Beyond your ships’ designation, there is little to separate you, should you be addressed.” Maybe on Vulcan that logic would hold up, back home though, the Brass found it mildly entertaining when relaying orders for Captain Archer to their subordinates.

“I think you’ll find that we manage to differentiate from each other quite easily.” Jon paced the floor, coming around to stand before the helm, a good-natured smile gracing his features, “And without mentioning who flies which ship too.”  
“Yes, the basic differences make it easy to discern one from the other.” And he would have called Sirik out on sounding impatient, were Vulcans capable of feelings, of course, “But it would surely lead to some mild confusion, should you both be present for a conference of sorts.”  
It irked Jon a little that that wasn’t even a question, that this Vulcan just presumed the top officers of Starfleet would get all muddled up because two people shared the same surname.  
He’d hoped that after all that Humanity had accomplished since the NX01 first set off, their so-called allies would hold them with a bit of a higher regard than one would give children.  
But apparently Jonathan was still too optimistic when it came to Vulcans.

He glanced briefly at T’Pol, reading her seemingly blank expression and regretted his previous thought. Not all of them had their heads stuck up their asses, and he was thankful for that.  
Jon gave his science officer a brief nod, rubbing his palms together as he regarded Sirik again, “You mean when we’re being called on? How we know who’s being talked to, given orders?”  
A tilt of the head, the Vulcan’s grey hair barely out of place with the slight motion and Jon decided he wanted to be petty just a bit longer.  
“Well, it’s all in the way they address us.”   
And now Sirik actually did look a little confused, “How so? Are you not both addressed as Captain?”  
“Of course we are. It’s the pronunciation.” Jon nodded like he was letting the Vulcan in on a secret. It made Sirik blink, almost show an emotion and then sit even straighter in his chair.  
“I have never heard of there being more than one way to pronounce the word, nor heard any distinctions when it is being said that would suggest this.” His tone of voice was half disbelieving, half unsure because it would just be typical Human to have a whole set of grammar rules to complicate the simple things for no apparent reason.

Jon stood a little straighter, hands clasped neatly behind his back as he put on a rather charming smile, “You’ve gotta be really listening for it.”   
Someone behind him choked back a laugh they then passed off as an ill-sounding cough, T’Pol’s voice giving away nothing as she suggested for Ensign Sato to perhaps visit Sickbay later.  
Sirik eyes’ looked over Jon’s shoulder to his fellow Vulcan, seemingly not finding whatever it was that he was looking for as he soon returned his hard stare to the Captain.  
“I see.” Which sounded a lot like he was regretting answering the hail from the Human vessel, “As long as no issues arise from it, then there is no problem.”  
Jon bended forward a little, nodding like the conclusion hadn’t occurred to him, “I suppose so.”  
Another pause followed, one man pleasantly smiling while the other just stared, before Sirik briefly looked away to someone off-screen, “Was there anything in particular that you wanted from me and my vessel, Captain Archer?”  
And if there was an utter lack of emphasis on his rank, Jon showed no signs of noticing as he shook his head, turning to face his bridge and make his way back to the Captain’s chair.  
He settled himself before properly answering, one arm resting on the armrest, while he braced his other hand on his thigh and grinned, “Just wanted to say hi, nothing more.”  
“I see.” And this one sounded a lot less polite than the last, the regret gone beyond a whim, “If there is nothing else..”  
The trail off usually lead up to a sudden disconnect, the apparent favoured sign off of Vulcans anywhere near the vicinity of the Enterprise, so Jon jumped in real quick while he still had the chance, “Next time the Columbia contacts me, I’ll tell my wife you said hi.”

The connection was cut in record time and Jon grinned at the deck-plating, well aware of the disapproving look his first officer was sending him.  
“You could have just informed him of your relation to Captain Hernandez from the start.” Vulcan displeasure rang across the bridge and Jon shifted in his seat to properly face her.  
“ And where’s the fun in that?”


End file.
